The Official Blog of the Gwinnett Braves, Triple-A Affiliate of the Atlanta Braves.

G-Braves Offense, Ryal Rolling Toward End

Photo courtesy of Kyle Hess

Four Gwinnett pitchers including starter Randall Delgado combined on a seven-hit shutout as the Braves defeated the Syracuse Chiefs, 6-0 on Friday night at Coolray Field. A season-high 9,372 fans packed the park as the G-Braves won for the second-straight night to start the final eight-game homestand.

Delgado worked 4.0 scoreless innings with four hits and three walks allowed, striking out seven in a no-decision. Dusty Hughes (W, 3-2) grabbed his third win of the season with 3.0 scoreless, two-hit innings and four strikeouts. Peter Moylan threw a scoreless eighth and Andy Russell added a scoreless non-save ninth to finish off Gwinnett’s ninth shutout win of the year.

Offensively, Rusty Ryal continued his torrid series with a 3-for-4 night, including an RBI double in the third inning. Lyle Overbay went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles, driving in two RBIs as well.

The G-Braves started the scoring early, crossing the plate in each of the first four innings.Jose Constanza led off the first with a single and advanced to second on a passed ball before scoring on a Terry Tiffee RBI single to give Gwinnett a 1-0 lead.

Gwinnett added three more runs in their half of the second, highlighted by a Constanza two-run double that scored Ryal and Delgado. The G-Braves extended the lead to 4-0 as Overbay doubled home Constanza with two outs.

Felix Pie reached base to start the third on a fielding error charged to Chiefs’ first baseman Mark Teahen. Following a fielder’s choice off the bat of Jose Yepez, Ryal once again came through in the clutch with a run-scoring double that raised the Gwinnett lead to 5-0.

Mitch Atkins replaced Maya in the fourth inning and allowed an RBI single to Pie scoring Overbay. After Pie’s hit made it 6-0 G-Braves, Atkins settled in for two more innings of scoreless relief. He pitched 3.0 innings in total, yielding an unearned run on three hits. Pat Lehman added 2.0 scoreless innings for Syracuse.

In addition to multi-hit efforts from Ryal and Overbay, Constanza also went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI in the leadoff spot. Constanza’s two-hit effort came a night removed from seeing his International League best 38-game on-base streak snapped by the Chiefs.

Saturday, August 25th G-Braves Starting Line-up from Coolray Field:

The Gwinnett Braves (61-73) take on the Syracuse Chiefs (63-71) in game three of the four-game series on Saturday night at Coolray Field, first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM. The G-Braves will start right-hander Julio Teheran (7-7, 5.48) against Syracuse left-hander John Lannan (7-11, 4.89). Listen to the broadcast on WDUN 550 AM / 102.9 FM in Gainesville, Georgia. The game will also air on CSS.

Syracuse (5th IL North) vs Gwinnett (4th IL South)

Come out to Coolray Field on Saturday night and place your bid on a Gwinnett Braves game-worn jersey with the G-Braves Jersey Auction. Each jersey worn during the game will be auctioned off to benefit the Gwinnett Medical Center Foundation. It’s also the third night of “Drive Me Crazy” as the G-Braves gather donations of canned foods, clothes, sports equipment, toys and more to restock local shelters and storage centers. Tickets for all Gwinnett Braves home games are on sale now at the Coolray Field Box Office. Call (678) 277-0340 or visit gwinnettbraves.com for more information.

The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.